IP Litigation Forum

[Anonymous User]

Some of Weil's top patent litigators (matt powers, groombridge, ball) recently left Weil - will other partners and clients follow? Weil still has top-notch patent litigators.
Does Vault ranking (Weil #7, Ropes #25) matter for patent litigation? Weil's patent-lit clientele does look more high profile.
Weil (office-wise and firm-wide) has a smaller patent litigation group and smaller summer class size - good or bad?

I m EE and FWIW Both offices had great atmospheres, people looked pretty happy.. no particular geo preference between NY and DC

[azntwice]

I've heard both IP groups are not doing well, but I'd go to Weil just in case.

[Anonymous User]

I really want this question answered too. How much are the partners leaving Weil going to matter over time? I have heard that on the upside, the clients have not followed Groombridge out, but I have heard that he took a number of associates with him too. I'm wondering if it's easier to replace associates than clients and if the departures won't affect the rankings too much. Anyone here who summered at either place?

[Blindmelon]

Weil/Ropes are both fantastic IP Lit shops. I would go by whether you want to be in NYC or DC. I would also check to make sure that Ropes NYC handles a lot of IP Lit work - its a big Boston/LA draw, but NYC offices tend to do less of it - so I would imagine their IPLit department is based in Boston. Also, I'm unsure, but I think Weil likes tech background people for IP Lit, while Ropes doesn't seem to care as much.

[dresq]

Weil/Ropes are both fantastic IP Lit shops. I would go by whether you want to be in NYC or DC. I would also check to make sure that Ropes NYC handles a lot of IP Lit work - its a big Boston/LA draw, but NYC offices tend to do less of it - so I would imagine their IPLit department is based in Boston. Also, I'm unsure, but I think Weil likes tech background people for IP Lit, while Ropes doesn't seem to care as much.

Most of the Ropes IP lit is in NYC. They took over a very well regarded IP boutique called Fish & Neave several years ago in NYC. That's why. If I was going to do IP lit for Ropes, I would definitely go the NYC. Moreover, If I was going to do IP lit for Weil, I wouldn't do it in DC. Ropes NYC is Chambers Band 1 in NYC. Weil is Band 4 in DC.

[Blindmelon]

Weil/Ropes are both fantastic IP Lit shops. I would go by whether you want to be in NYC or DC. I would also check to make sure that Ropes NYC handles a lot of IP Lit work - its a big Boston/LA draw, but NYC offices tend to do less of it - so I would imagine their IPLit department is based in Boston. Also, I'm unsure, but I think Weil likes tech background people for IP Lit, while Ropes doesn't seem to care as much.

Most of the Ropes IP lit is in NYC. They took over a very well regarded IP boutique called Fish & Neave several years ago in NYC. That's why. If I was going to do IP lit for Ropes, I would definitely go the NYC. Moreover, If I was going to do IP lit for Weil, I wouldn't do it in DC. Ropes NYC is Chambers Band 1 in NYC. Weil is Band 4 in DC.

Sounds like Ropes it is OP.

[Anonymous User]

OP here.

Weil's IP "HQ" used to be the redwood shores office, but after some of the office's partners and associates left, the IP presence seems to be spread out pretty evenly among the redwood shores , DC, and NY. Moreover, the DC office seems to spearhead the firm's ITC practice - a huge plus for getting hands-on EE patent litigation earlier in the career, especially considering the small size of the patent litigation team (6~8 associates) in the DC office.

But my principal concern is that the big Weil clients (Apple, microsoft) may leave Weil once the current cases (brought in by the partners who left recently) are settled/completed. Is this a valid concern, or will the clients stay thanks to Weil's Vault/overall reputation?

As for Ropes, there has been recent reports of low utilization rate (some associates sitting idle) at Ropes NY, which kinda scares me. Is this a common occurrence at offices with large classes of patent litigation associates?

Also, in terms of in-house exit options, do tech corporations know/care about Vault rankings? Or will they just recognize the firm names that are well known in IP?

[Anonymous User]

I really want more info. about the impact of the departures on Weil too, but for NY. I'm making phone appointments to find out how stable the group is and whether they're actively trying to hire partners.

[Anonymous User]

I really want this question answered too. How much are the partners leaving Weil going to matter over time? I have heard that on the upside, the clients have not followed Groombridge out, but I have heard that he took a number of associates with him too. I'm wondering if it's easier to replace associates than clients and if the departures won't affect the rankings too much. Anyone here who summered at either place?

Is Groombridge really not taking clients over to Paul, Weiss? How about Josh Krevitt? Matt Powers was obviously a huge loss.

[Anonymous User]

anon bump

[Old Gregg]

Whether or not clients follow a partner to another firm is an open question that no one here can answer. That said, Groombridge's tenure at Paul Weiss will be short if none of his clients followed him.

[Anonymous User]

Also, in terms of in-house exit options, do tech corporations know/care about Vault rankings? Or will they just recognize the firm names that are well known in IP?

I and many of my law school friends worked in-house for at least 1 summer, including some of the largest technology companies in Silicon Valley. They don't care too much in my experience.

Most importantly though, most in-house positions are for patent prosecutors (or I should say ex-patent prosecutors since most don't actually prosecute patents in-house) rather than litigators. Lots of them come from local Silicon Valley patent pros. boutiques that have likely never been named on this forum.

I recommend you do a search on LinkedIn to see where people come from.